Buying a new home? Don't Forget to Budget for Joy

Hi, I'm  Laura Rotter from True Abundance Advisors, and I am watching people in a  frenzy trying to buy a home.  And they're watching mortgage rates go up and they  know that they've been looking for over a year  and they finally get an accepted bid on a home and  they're in a frenzy to get a mortgage locked in. And if this sounds like you, please:  don't forget to budget for joy!  

Look at what you take home each month. This  is after taxes, after your 401k contribution, what's actually deposited in your bank account  each month. And then look at what the cost of your mortgage and insurance and escrow, interest,  principal payment, what is that monthly payment?  

Ideally, your housing costs do  not eat up more than a third of what you're bringing home. And then add on all  the other monthly payments that are locked in. That's your utility payments, your cell  phone, your car payment, your cable payment, your Netflix, your gym membership. What  do you know you are paying each month? And if that eats up a lot more than  half of what you're bringing home, you're not going to have that much  room to pay for fun, to pay for joy.  

I'm not talking about extravagant things. Just  the ability to order in with a friend, walk by a store and there's a sweater you need and it's finally on sale. Just the ability to feel like money is not such a tight thing. Let alone if your parents require a plane ride to go visit them, or friends that you want the ability to  travel again. Not extravagantly, but to have choices, while also keeping money  in an emergency fund and. of course, saving for the future.

Look I learned this myself. I took a big reduction in income when I started  my own financial planning practice, and I knew I had to sell the house that I loved But because my fixed costs were 85%  of my new reduced income, And  it has created so much joy for me!